Aerostatic advertising apparatus



(No Model.) 2 Sheets'Sheet 1.

N. BURGESS.- ABROSTATIG ADVERTISING APPARATUS.

No. 542,792. Patented July 16, 1895.

' (No McAdel.) 2 SheetsSheet 2. N. BURGESS.

AEROSTATIG ADVERTISING APPARATUS. No. 542,792. Patented July 16, 1895.

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' view in elevation of an aerostat.

UNITE STATES NEILSON BURGESS, OF HIGHLANDS, NEW JERSEY.

AEROSTATIC ADVERTISING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 542,792, dated July 16,1895.

Application filed March 3,1894. Serial No. 502.299.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, NEILSON BURGESS, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Highlands, in the county of Monmouth and State of NewJersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in AerostaticAdvertising Apparatus, of which the following is a full, clear, andexact description, whereby any one skilled in the art can mak and usethe same.

My invention relates to the class of apparatus adapted to display, in aconspicuous manner, matter of advertisement in an elevated positionwhere it may be seen by a large number of persons.

The object of my invention is to provide an apparatus which will enableany sign, lettering, or statement in the way ofadvertising to bedisplayed on the clouds asa screen; and to this end my inventionconsists in the details of the several parts making up the apparatus andmeans for supporting the display mechanism and in the combination of theseveral parts, as more particularly hereinafterdescribed, and recited inthe claim.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l is a Fig. 2 is a detail top or planView of the lantern and its support on an enlarged scale. Fig. 3 is adetail view, in vertical section, of the lantern and its immediatesupport. 7 In the accompanying drawings the letter a denotes a balloonor like aerostat, intended to be held at the required elevation, as bymeans of an anchor-rope b, controlled from any suitable station, and ina position to enable the object of the apparatus to be carried out. Ithas been found that by means of a powerful search-light letters or theoutlines of figures maybe thrown upon the clouds as a screen; but theclouds vary so in altitude as to make it difficult to produce thedesired result.

In carrying out my invention the balloon a is arranged to support alantern c on top of the balloon, a frame d serving tohold the lantern inproper position, the frame being made preferably of a series of archesof rigid material, having a girdle (1' arranged to encircle the bodypart of the balloon. The

metallic parts of the frame and lantern are made preferably of aluminum,which is suffi-r (No model.)

ciently strong for the purpose, and so light as 'not to destroy thecounterpoise of the balloon,

but will permit it to float in a substantially upright position, theballastin the basket being used,as usual, to provide for the maintor f,which throw a powerful,- beam of light through a tubular opening g inthe lantern. A slide or screen provided with any desired lettering isarranged to be drawn across the face of the lantern by mechanism h 2',which is controlled by electricity, the wires for operating themechanism extending to the station on the ground.

The mechanism for controlling the slide or screen consists of a rodk,'suitably mounted in bearings in the framed, a pawll being pivoted tothis rod, the outer end of the pawl being in engagement with theratchet-wheel m. This ratchet-wheel is secured to aroll around which thescreen is adapted to be wound. This mechanism just described is joinedup in any well-known manner in an electric circuit to cause the rod isto be moved downward, as by the closing of the circuit, this causing theratchet-wheel m and the rollerbearing screen to be rotated. A roll it isalso mounted in suitable bearings in the frame on the opposite side fromthe rod in, and areleasing device 0 is also pivoted to this side of theframe, one end beingin engagement with a notch in the edge of the rollm, this releasing device beingalso joined upin an electric circuit andoperated simultaneously with the mechanism h, being released at the sametime that the mechanism It is operated to wind the screen. The electriccircuit controlling these mechanisms can be suitably operated from theground.

A stereoscope supported within the lanternbody and having a continuousslide, arranged as described, affords a convenient device for displayingthe matter to which attention is to be called.

The apparatus is operated by floating the balloon at such an elevationas will bring it at the necessary distance from the clouds to clouds.

enable a proper focus to be adjusted on the The elevation of the balloonmay be changed from time to time in order to maintain the desired focaldistance.

The main feature of my improvement resides in the particular arrangementof the aerostat and lantern rather than in any details of constructionof the devices for producing the light or throwing the picture or wordsupon the cloud-screen.

I claim as my invention In combination with an aerostat, a lanternsupported thereon, a lantern slide located in front of the lantern andbearing display matter, rolls supporting the lantern slide, a ratchetsecured to one of said rolls, a pawl held normally in engagement withthe ratchet, a rod supporting the pawl, a stop device held nor- NEILSONBURGESS. Witnesses:

. Form '1. Townes, MARY BURGESS.

